Cocoa

The chocolate power of this unsweetened powder goes well beyond warm winter drinks.

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As winter warmer-uppers go, there’s nothing more comforting than a steaming mug of hot cocoa. But consider this the next time you indulge in the chocolaty elixir: Cocoa powder was nothing short of revolutionary when it was invented—without it, chocolate as we know it wouldn’t exist.

Although chocolate has been a delicacy for thousands of years—cocoa plants were cultivated in Central America as early as 500 BC—it was palatable only when dissolved in water or milk or used in baking. Moreover, chocolate was expensive, a luxury reserved for royalty and the rich.

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But in 1828, when Dutch chocolate maker Conrad J. van Houten was looking for a way to make chocolate dissolve more easily in liquid, he came up with the cocoa-making process that paved the way for every cookie, truffle and Valentine’s treat today.

By squeezing the cocoa butter out of the roasted cocoa beans with a hydraulic press, van Houten made a dry cocoa “cake” that could be finely ground. Not only was the resulting cocoa powder much cheaper, but it could also be sweetened with sugar and then remixed with cocoa butter to make smooth, solid chocolate.

While you may not be able to turn a box of cocoa powder into a candy bar yourself—making chocolate is a complicated process—there are still lots of luscious reasons to keep unsweetened cocoa on hand. Marcel Desaulniers, author of Death by Chocolate: The Last Word on a Consuming Passion, uses it to give his chocolate desserts extra oomph.

Reach for cocoa to dust cakes with delicate designs: Place a doily or a paper cut-out of a heart on top of a cake, and sift the cocoa powder over it. Or whip up a quick dessert sauce by dissolving equal parts cocoa and sugar in warm milk or cream, then adding a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg. In a recipe pinch, cocoa powder can also be substituted for unsweetened chocolate—just mix together three tablespoons of cocoa powder with one tablespoon melted butter or vegetable oil for every ounce of unsweetened chocolate in a recipe.

But cocoa’s uses aren’t limited to sweet confections. Latin American cooks have long blended cocoa into spicy south-of-the-border chilis and stews, which taste richer and heartier with a teaspoon or two of their “secret” ingredient. For a modern version of traditional Mexican mole sauce, cocoa can’t be beat because it’s easy to use (no messy chocolate-melting).

Or you can imitate the chefs at the Hershey Company, who treat cocoa like any other spice, adding it to savory dishes such as soups and casseroles. Or try adding a dash of it to everyday items such as salad dressings, herb-laced roasted vegetables—even grilled cheese sandwiches—for an exotic, almost smoky flavor that’s not overpowering.

Still, the best thing to do with cocoa may just be to . . . make cocoa.

Simply dissolve two teaspoons cocoa powder and one tablespoon sugar in one tablespoon hot water, then stir in one cup hot milk. The rich, chocolaty flavor of this easy concoctionwill win you over for good—and warm you up for the rest of the winter.

To make Enchiladas: Preheat oven to 350F. Ladle 3/4 cup Mole Sauce into bottoms of 2 12x8-inch ovenproof baking dishes. Place about 21/2 Tbs. cheese in center of each tortilla. Roll tortilla around cheese, and set seam side down on top of mole sauce, placing 8 filled tortillas in each pan. Top each dish with 11/4 cups mole, and sprinkle each with 1/3 cup cheese. Bake 20 minutes, or until sauce bubbles and cheese melts.

Sautéing foods is the French equivalent of stir-frying - it's a basic technique for quick, easy cooking. You just fast-stir small pieces of food in a little oil over moderately high heat, something all cooks do without thinking, "Oh, I'm sautéing!"

The traditional pairing of chocolate and romance on Valentine's Day is a perfect union, as the simply act of consuming chocolate evokes a multi-sensory, sensual experience: its intoxicating aroma, the way it melts slowly and softly on the tongue, its rich color, its heavenly flavor. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner—it’s time to decide which decadent, chocolaty indulgences to gift to your special someone or pick up to treat yourself to. But before your reach for that traditional heart-shaped box, you should know that not all chocolates are created equal, especially if you're shopping for a vegan valentine.